{"id":47882,"date":"2012-10-01T05:23:11","date_gmt":"2012-10-01T11:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=47882"},"modified":"2020-06-20T20:56:08","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T00:56:08","slug":"shi-zen-ya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=47882","title":{"rendered":"Shizenya, Vancouver"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m pretty tolerant when it comes to restaurants and especially with trying new things. Having cockroaches or mice run across your feet while eating in India will do that. However, the one thing I’ve learned as I’ve eaten my way around the world is to trust the walk out now<\/em> instinct.<\/p>\n

This particular instinct ran amuck in a highly recommended but unnamed restaurant that starts with Guu<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was the hostess seating me between two particularly amorous and closely seated couples (when the rest of the restaurant was empty) or maybe it was the waitress sticking her iPhone in my face so she could translate my request for a San Pellegrino or Perrier<\/em>. Either way, by the time a glass of dirty tap water appeared, it was time to leave.<\/p>\n

This turned out to be a fantastic decision because as I walked out and down the street, I meandered past a lovely little Japanese restaurant that beckoned from within: Shizenya<\/a>. It’s peaceful, friendly, and I felt like I’d found a little hidden gem of a restaurant.<\/p>\n

Immediately Shizenya has 3-things going for it: gluten-free labeling, healthy ingredients, and Ocean Wise identification<\/a>. On the menu below are the Miso Vegetable Soup, the Ocean Quartet Salad, the Sakura Blossom Roll, and Hijiki. Guilt-free eating; and, while eating, I kept hearing Mantis’ voice (Kung Fu Panda) in the back of my mind: I wish my mouth was bigger!<\/em><\/p>\n

I think they’ll be seeing a lot of me in the months to come.<\/p>\n